How often should I check my credit report?

Question: “I read somewhere that I should check my credit report often, to make sure there are no errors on it. Is this true? How often should I check my credit report for this kind of thing?”

I can’t seen any reason to pull your report more than once a year. You’re actually entitled to one free report per year, from all three of the reporting bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax). You can get all three of them from AnnualCreditReport.com. There are literally thousands of websites that offer free credit reports, but most of them are trying to rope you into some kind of credit-monitoring service. The only official website for free reports is AnnualCreditReport.com.

If you’re planning to buy a home in the near future, you should check your reports soon to make sure they are error-free. If you find any discrepancies, you’ll want to get them cleaned up before you start applying for mortgage loans. You can dispute errors through the website of the company producing the report — either TransUnion, Equifax of Experian.

It’s also wise to check your credit score (different from your report) before buying a home. When you apply for a mortgage, the lender will check your FICO credit score. This helps them understand how you have borrowed and repaid money over the years. They will base their approval decision partly on your credit score. So you should find out where you stand now, before applying for a loan.

This article answers the question: How often should I check my credit report for errors? If you have similar questions about this topic, try doing a search at the top of this website. You can also visit our main credit page to find more articles like this one.